The Joys Of Candy Hearts in the Nighttime
by Cimbeline
Summary: Draco couldn't help noting to himself the lovely pink tint of her cheeks, brought out by her laughter, and the little spark of mirth that colored her eyes and tilted the corners of her lips." GE Valentine's Day challenge.


**Title:** The Joys of Candy Hearts in the Nighttime

**Author: **Manthara

**Summary: **Draco couldn't help noting to himself the lovely pink tint of her cheeks, brought out by her laughter, and the little spark of mirth that colored her eyes and tilted the corners of her lips.

**Rating:** M

**A/N:** Here was the challenge, from Granger Enchanted: the story must be 1000 words, and include these elements: sweetie hearts, love, no canon pairings, two person relationship, happy ending, and one of a few quotes. I chose: "Sex alleviates tension. Love creates it," by Woody Allen. Enjoy!

* * *

It all began in a dark corner of the library, in which Hermione Granger was spending yet another lonely night, counting out little pastel-colored..._candies?_

Hmm. This doesn't do.

Draco Malfoy tapped his chin twice, thinking, then rubbed his neck as a smirk appeared on his face.

He walked out from behind the dusty bookshelf, quickly adjusting his steps to a slow pace which caused his hips to roll and his shoulders to follow. Looking unaffected is hard work.

Stalking, no,_following_ Granger had become a favorite pastime of the young Mr. Malfoy, especially on the eves of holidays. He didn't really have much else to do, considering the fact that Saint Valentine's Day was a couples' holiday, and Draco, at this point, was very much _single_.

Back to the present.

Draco was just out of Granger's view, and he intended to keep it that way- that is, until he came up with something witty to say.

Hermione raised her head, pushing a small pile of little candies to the side of the table.

"Malfoy,.. if you're here, might as well make yourself useful."

As usual, when confronted with an uncomfortable situation, Draco reverted to thinly veiled sexual innuendo.

"I can make myself _very_ useful, Granger..."

He cringed at his own vulgarity, but quickly neutralized his expression.

She rolled her eyes and pat the seat beside her twice. "Come on. Help me count out these little heart things."

Malfoy walked stiffly to the rich mahogany table and slowly sat down, reliving his entire existence up until this point to figure what in the name of Merlin's _sweatiest_ undergarments had possessed him to sit next to the Mudblood Queen.

He sat next to her, silent, for few minutes, questioning his purpose on this earth, before realizing that she has pushed a ridiculously large pile of those weird little candies in his general direction, and was in the middle of what sounded like a gut wrenching breakup story...

"..he was yelling, and yes, he does tend to do that often, but this time it was_serious_, he said it just like that, because I was staying up late making "ridiculous and insipid valentines" instead of pursuing various, well, more _libidinous _pursuits with him- at which point I made the mistake of insulting his expertise in said areas- and..Malfoy, are you even _listening?_"

Alas, the young platinum haired man was not listening. He flushed and stammered out a reply, which came out as something along the lines of, "yes, of course, what a wanker, Merlin's pants, a complete tosser, that one is," while simultaneously trying to look _calm _and_ collected_ as ever, which gave him the appearance of a blast ended skrewt channeling Hagrid in a bather.

Hermione tried to stop herself from laughing, and was quite successful in doing so until Draco noticed her shaking shoulders and threw her a disgruntled glare, only succeeding in making her laugh openly until her face was flushed and she had to take a few steadying breaths to calm herself.

Draco couldn't help noting to himself the lovely pink tint of her cheeks, brought out by her laughter, and the little spark of mirth that colored her eyes and tilted the corners of her lips.

Mudblood queen. Right.

He decided to explore the avenue of her apparent separation from He-Weasel Number Three to distract himself from her shining hair, which up this close didn't quite look so rough and tangled.. in fact, his fingers twitched with the desire to glide through her curls- he glared at his traitorous digits hardly, and wove them together so they didn't confuse him further with their ridiculous desires.

"So, you and Percy, eh? Rolling in the hay? Sharing a sack?"

Lord. It had sounded much better in his brain.

"Erm.." Hermione flushed again. "Well, only twice..enh, I'm not entirely sure why I'm telling you this, but I really do _love_ Percival, but as far as the whole sack-sharing- I've never really felt the desire to, um, you know.. with him. I suppose I really only did it to please him, but truly, I've never really enjoyed it."

Hm.

"You love Weasel? How could the hay-rolling be unsatisfactory, then? Everyone knows that sex alleviates tension, and love creates it."

Hermione was silent, toying with the minute hearts in front of her. Draco wondered if he had done something wrong, and berated himself internally. If you asked him why, he wouldn't have been able to tell you. However, in some small portion of his mind, he knew- and it had something to do with the way her fingers stood electrified when she raised her hand in class, her sweater lifting ever so slightly, and her eyes glinting with intent- something to do with the way she would look him down as if he was the scum of the earth- something to do with the way she always caught him when he was following her, and_definitely _something to do with the way she had opened up to him right after dumping Percy... more like something to do with the fact that _she_ _had just dumped Percy_.

Draco's heart was beating like the hummingbird in the proverbial cage. His face colored, and he tried to stop the smile from blossoming on his face.

He had a crush on Hermione Granger, Supreme Ruler of the Mudbloods.

His insides were humming excitedly with this new realization, and he turned to her-

"So, Hermione, what should I do with these revolting heart-things?

Hermione looked at him strangely, and instructed him to separate them into piles of ten, making sure none of the sayings were the same. He set to work happily, the cogs of his brain turning slowly, picking up speed, as he formulated a plan.

He did as Hermione said, noting the various sayings on the candies as they toiled in silence...

_I love You, Sweet One, Hot One, Only1 4 Me, Kiss Me.._, et cetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

He sighed as he counted, separated, and pushed the piles to the sides of the table, the clock ticking endlessly as the early evening became early night.

Finally, he had run out of hearts- he was on his final pile, and he needed one more heart to complete it. He spotted one on the table, between Hermione and himself. Perfect. His carefully calculated eating of a few strategic hearts had guaranteed this one chance.

He reached his hand out slowly to the last heart, hoping fervently that Hermione would follow his lead...

_fantastic. _

She had, and he placed his hand over hers as she made to pinch the candy between her fingers.

She looked up at him, but found him very, very close to her- his cool breath caressing her cheeks as her eyes took in the clouded desire in his eyes, the hot blush of his cheeks...the softness of his lips..the tickle of his hair as a few strands brushed her forehead. Her heart beat wildly, and her own cheeks were flushed as she stared at his mouth, and felt his free hand slide slowly behind her back, pulling them close together.

He lowered his mouth to hers, and she sighed as she closed her eyes and freed her hand from his, moving them to twist in his tresses of platinum hair. Their tongues met, battling for dominance, and Hermione nipped his lip in warning, causing him to groan, and her to smirk. She reengaged him, and didn't notice his roaming hands until she felt a few fingers ghosting under her skirt, brushing against her thigh, and finally, where she needed them most.

She kissed him fervently as he touched her, and brought her to a electric completion.

Sighing against each other in the deserted library, Hermione gathered her wits and managed to whisper: "It would seem that love does indeed create tension,". Draco chuckled in agreement and pure_happiness, _and looked at the sweet, sweet heart that had been the keystone in bringing Hermione and himself together- he laughed again, this time louder.

Home Run, indeed.

THE END.


End file.
